Chapter Nine: Arrival in the City of Magic

Upon reaching the lobby, Yang Fan handed his room card to the front desk and informed them that someone would be coming to check out, then pulled his suitcase and walked out the front door.

In the northwestern borderlands, the temperature difference between morning and evening was stark; the cold wind cut across one’s cheeks like a blade, and passersby hurried along, faces set with urgency—after all, it was bitterly cold.

At that moment, Zhou Ting was watching Yang Fan from a taxi parked across the street. She rolled down the window and called out, “Yang Fan, over here.”

Following the sound, Yang Fan crossed the street, placed his suitcase in the trunk, and climbed into the taxi.

“Airport, please,” Zhou Ting said to the driver as soon as Yang Fan was settled.

Suddenly, Zhou Ting fixed her gaze on Yang Fan, staring intently.

“Senior sister, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?” Yang Fan felt a chill under her scrutiny.

“What happened last night?” Zhou Ting asked, still staring.

“Last night? Nothing happened,” Yang Fan replied, though a pang of guilt tugged at him. The matter of the system was nothing short of extraordinary—he could never tell anyone about it. Yet, now that his Qi Sea had advanced, he was no longer the same as ordinary people. Zhou Ting’s intense gaze made him suspect that she had noticed something.

“Forget it, if you don’t want to say, I won’t press you. All I’ll tell you is this: you haven’t begun cultivation yet, your body is still that of an ordinary person; you haven’t tempered your muscles and bones. Yet your Qi Sea is clearly half-open. No matter what you ate or drank, or for whatever other reason, you must not continue. If your Qi Sea fully opens before your body is ready to withstand it, you could easily destroy your meridians and flesh,” Zhou Ting warned, turning away from him.

Waves rippled through Yang Fan’s mind.

“A lack of knowledge truly is dangerous. Luckily, I only added 0.5 points to my Qi Sea value—if I had added the other 0.5, would it have fully opened? And 0.6 only counts as half-open? Thank goodness. From now on, I mustn’t act rashly—at least not until I’ve figured out the steps to cultivation.”

The rest of the ride passed in silence. Yang Fan called Zhao Rui to tell him he was leaving, and to ask him to check out of the hotel, since they’d only stayed one night out of the seven booked—he wanted to get the refund.

Upon arriving at the airport, Yang Fan waited to check in. There were no direct flights from the small frontier city to the capital; a transfer was necessary. This was Yang Fan’s first time traveling, and his first time on a plane. In his eighteen years, he had never once left this small city—he had never even seen a train, let alone an airplane.

He boarded the morning flight, and it wasn’t until four in the afternoon, after a layover in Zheng City, that he finally arrived in the capital.

Disembarking, Yang Fan still felt a tinge of excitement, but his first journey had come to an end.

Standing on the ground of the capital, Yang Fan was struck by a sense of unreality.

What had happened to him? Only yesterday morning, he was an orphan from the welfare institute, unloved and uncared for, and yet, just a day later, he was now a student at the Capital Academy of Cultivation, having traveled over three thousand kilometers to get here.

Wasn’t this what they called a leap to the heavens? Not only that, he had awakened the Thunder Affinity and had a system by his side.

The young always harbor grand ambitions, often imagining themselves as the protagonist of the world. Most people, over time, have their edges worn away and are taught by the harshness of reality that they are not the protagonist, only a face in the crowd.

Yet Yang Fan’s feelings now were different. Everything felt so real. With such talent and such opportunity, if he still couldn’t become the protagonist, then truly fate would be unjust.

Heaven is fair. When it takes something from a person, it must return something in kind.

Heaven took Yang Fan’s childhood and his family, but what it gave him in return was a future unlike any other.

Following Zhou Ting out of the airport, a petite girl called out at the exit, “Hey, sis, over here, sis!”

Zhou Ting saw her and led Yang Fan over.

“You must be exhausted, sis. I heard you’ve broken through to the fourth rank? That’s incredible! I don’t think I’ll ever catch up to you. So this is the first-rank genius Dad asked you to pick up?” The girl greeted Zhou Ting, then shifted her gaze to the unassuming Yang Fan at her side.

“Yes, that’s him. His name is Yang Fan.” Even Zhou Ting, whose expression had been cool the whole time, allowed a hint of a smile to show upon seeing the girl.

“Hi, hello, your name is Yang Fan, right? I’m Zhou Yiyi, Zhou Ting’s younger sister, and also a new student at the Capital Academy of Cultivation this year—same class as you.” She extended her hand to him.

Yang Fan hurriedly shook her hand, but at the moment their hands met, he felt a surge of force from her grip. Instinctively, he responded in kind.

“Ouch!” the girl yelped, quickly pulling her hand back and blowing on it as if that could ease the pain.

“I’m so sorry, I reacted on instinct and didn’t control my strength—did I hurt you? I’m really sorry.” Yang Fan apologized at once, swearing it hadn’t been intentional. Since half-opening his Qi Sea, he had no idea how much his strength had increased, nor had he yet adapted to it. Zhou Yiyi had squeezed harder first, and he’d reflexively squeezed back, not controlling it at all.

Zhou Yiyi, still rubbing her reddened hand, huffed, “What good is saying sorry? I came all this way to pick you up, and this is how you treat me!”

Yang Fan felt awkward. “I really am sorry. You suddenly gripped harder, and I just reacted. I didn’t mean to hurt you, really.”

Zhou Ting watched the two of them. She knew her sister’s mischievous ways well—this was a prank gone wrong. But she also noted the strength Yang Fan had displayed. Though her sister could be unruly, she had never neglected the serious business of tempering her body; despite her small frame, her strength surpassed that of most grown men. Yet Yang Fan’s grip was even stronger.

Was this the result of his half-open Qi Sea? But even a half-open Qi Sea shouldn’t bring such rapid improvement overnight.

What Zhou Ting didn’t know was that Yang Fan had a system. The system’s work was always thorough; even if his Qi Sea was only half-open, the effects were optimal. Where others required long-term cultivation for their bodies to strengthen, the system simply bypassed the process and delivered the result.

“All right, you two, enough. Yiyi, stop fooling around. Let’s go. We haven’t eaten all day—let’s get some food,” Zhou Ting intervened.

Zhou Yiyi, seeing her sister speak, dropped the matter, shooting Yang Fan a glare as she followed Zhou Ting to the underground parking lot.

Yang Fan felt a rush of frustration. “What is going on? I didn’t do anything, and as soon as I got off the plane, all I’ve done is apologize.”

Seeing the sisters walk ahead, Yang Fan hurried after them, realizing he needed to get familiar with his new strength quickly—he couldn’t have these mishaps happening again.

Navigating the twists and turns of the underground parking lot, Yang Fan soon lost his sense of direction. Normally, he prided himself on his sense of direction, yet now he was completely at a loss, afraid to fall behind even a step. If he got lost here, it would be utterly embarrassing.

A white Mercedes G500 blinked its lights as they approached.

Yang Fan stared at the SUV, feeling once again that sense of unreality. Such a tiny girl driving such a large vehicle? It seemed so incongruous.

But the two beauties ahead paid no attention to Yang Fan’s musings, opening the doors and getting in without hesitation.

Yang Fan quickly stowed his luggage in the trunk, then climbed into the back seat of the imposing off-roader.

Zhou Yiyi started the car smoothly, like a seasoned driver.

“Sis, where are we eating?” Zhou Yiyi asked, still ignoring Yang Fan.

“Anywhere is fine, you decide,” Zhou Ting replied, closing her eyes to rest.

Yang Fan sat awkwardly in the back, not knowing what to say to Zhou Yiyi, who was still annoyed with him. She had only meant to tease him, yet he’d responded with such force—she had no intention of talking to him now. So the three traveled in silence.

Zhou Yiyi’s driving was steady—Yang Fan couldn’t tell if it was the quality of the car or her skill. After a while, just as Yang Fan was beginning to doze off, the car stopped.

“We’re here, get out,” Zhou Yiyi announced, jumping out first.

Yang Fan rubbed his face to wake himself and followed.

The three walked to the elevator in the basement, and Zhou Yiyi pressed the button for the 23rd floor.

As the elevator ascended and the doors opened, Yang Fan was greeted by the sight of an Italian restaurant. He felt a sinking feeling.

“Didn’t they say we’d eat something simple? Are we even living in the same universe? Zhou Yiyi, did you misunderstand the meaning of ‘something simple’? This doesn’t look like the kind of place for a casual meal.”

Yang Fan stared in confusion. He had thought ‘something simple’ meant grabbing a bite at a street stall. Even though he now knew the sisters were wealthy, just last night he and Zhou Ting had eaten skewers by the roadside, and it had cost him a hundred and fifty yuan.

But from the look of things today, a hundred and fifty wouldn’t even be a start.

Yang Fan sighed inwardly—poverty really does limit the imagination.

“Hey, what are you doing, daydreaming over there? Hurry up!” Zhou Yiyi called when she saw Yang Fan still standing in a daze.

Her annoyance had eased a little, and seeing Yang Fan’s dumbstruck expression as he entered the grand restaurant gave her a peculiar sense of satisfaction.

She had chosen this place on purpose. Although the price didn’t matter to her, as someone who still relied on her family and her sister, this definitely wasn’t ‘something simple’ to her either.

She just wanted to see Yang Fan’s reaction.

Half-dazed, Yang Fan followed them inside.